Himes, Camillo talk guns at GHS

Paul Schott

Updated 10:45 pm, Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Nick Debany, Young Republicans, senior; Nick Abbott, Young Democrats, junior; Chris Winters, Headmaster; and Rep. Jims Himes, D-Greenwich; and Fred Camillo, State Rep., in a discussion on gun control in the auditorium, at Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Tuesday, June 6, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Rep.Jim Himes D-Greenwich, and State Representative Fred Camillo speak at the discussion on gun control in the auditorium, at Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Tuesday, June 6, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Rep.Jim Himes D-Greenwich, and State Representative Fred Camillo speak at the discussion on gun control in the auditorium, at Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Tuesday, June 6, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Nick Debany, senior, Young Republicans, and Nick Abbott, Young Democrats, junior moderate a discussion on gun control in the auditorium, at the Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Tueday, June 6, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Rep.Jim Himes D-Greenwich, and State Representative Fred Camillo speak at the discussion on gun control in the auditorium, at Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Tuesday, June 6, 2013.
Photo: Helen Neafsey

Greenwich High School students attending a discussion on gun violence Tuesday morning between a Democratic congressman and Republican state representative might have expected an exchange of verbal salvos.

Instead, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and Greenwich state Rep. Fred Camillo kept their rhetorical safety locks on as they found common ground on background checks, mental health services and the importance of promoting gun safety.

Both legislators expressed their support for the gun-violence-prevention legislation approved in April by the state General Assembly, which bans the sale of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds and requires criminal background checks for every gun purchase.

Camillo missed voting on the bill because of cancer treatment. On Tuesday he supported the background-checks stipulation, but argued it could have been expanded to protect against another incident like the one that sparked the gun debate in Connecticut, in which a disturbed man used a gun legally purchased by his mother to commit atrocities.

"Someone who applies for an application, it's not enough, I think, to just look at that application," he said. "You have to see who they live with, if there's somebody in the house who has a lot of mental health issues or has an extensive arrest record ... But I was very happy to see background checks in there."

He described the 10-round limit as "a little too low." Later in the conversation, though, he indicated he would not favor a 30-round capacity, citing his concern about bystanders being hurt, especially in densely populated areas.

Himes is a co-sponsor of legislation in the House of Representatives that would set a 10-bullet cap for magazines. But the third-term congressman also emphasized his support for the Second Amendment.

"I actually quite enjoy shooting," he said. "But every single right we have is in some way modified or conditioned. The classic example is that we have a right to free speech, but you don't have a right to scream `fire' in a crowded theater."

Himes also argued that a class of weapons used by military and law-enforcement personnel "ought to be off-limits" to others -- a reference to the AR-15 assault rifle Adam Lanza used to murder 20 first-graders and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. 14.

The respective presidents of Greenwich High's Young Republicans and Young Democrats clubs, Nick Debany and Nick Abbott, moderated the discussion, which was attended by several hundred students in the high school auditorium. Chris Winters, the school's headmaster, acted as catalyst for the program when he met recently with Debany and Abbott, and told them that he was not hearing "the same level of discourse about gun control inside Greenwich High School that was raging outside our building."

Himes and Camillo also expressed similar views on the need for improved mental health access and services.

They diverged most prominently on the wisdom of using guns for self-defense at home.

"Home invasions, as Jim said, they're low probabilities, but they do happen, and they have happened on my street," Camillo said. "I would love to see that right to always remain for people, if they choose, to be able to defend themselves and defend themselves in a reasonable way."

Himes staked out a more skeptical position.

"If you make the decision to keep a weapon in your home, you have made a much more dangerous home, in which it is much more likely that you or your spouse or one of your children or neighbors will die with the gun you have chosen to keep," he said. "If you want to do that, I believe that's your right. But it's not a debatable proposition that if you have a gun in the home, you are safer."

The legislators also fielded questions from students, including one pointed query from junior Matthew Mileto.

"If violence solves nothing, how did we win World War II, and why do we arm our police officers?" he asked.

A number of Mileto's peers applauded and cheered his comment.

"Nobody up here is saying violence solves nothing," Himes responded. "Neither of us are pacifists. Both of us support a robust defense of the United States of America and recognize the fact that there are bad people out there, whether they're al-Qaeda in Afghanistan or snipers in towers or gang-bangers committing crimes, the solution for which unfortunately is a violent solution. We recognize that; that does not mean we embrace it as a good solution."

Camillo followed by advocating for more gun-safety awareness.

"If you haven't been to a range, go to a range," he said. "Many of my fellow legislators knew nothing about guns. They didn't even know what an AR-15 was. A lot of them took a course, went to the range, and I went to the range several times. Always knowing puts you in a better position to make those choices."